3 arrested in fatal 2013 shooting in Southlake Town Square

Three men were in a South Texas jail on Monday in connection with the brazen shooting of a Mexican drug cartel attorney at Southlake Town Square in May 2013.

Jesus Gerardo Ledezma-Cepeda, also known as Chuy and Juan Ramos, was indicted on July 9 by a federal grand jury on a charge of interstate stalking, according to court records.

According to the indictment, Ledezma-Cepeda is accused of traveling from Mexico to Southlake with the intent to kill Juan Jesus Guerrero-Chapa.

The indictment was unsealed after Ledezma-Cepeda was arrested by FBI agents in McAllen on Friday, court records show.

Guerrero had just finished shopping with his wife about 7 p.m. May 22, 2013, when he was gunned down at the popular retail destination in Southlake. A white SUV pulled up behind the couple’s Range Rover as Guerrero’s wife stowed packages in the back and Guerrero sat in the passenger seat.

The gunman, his face partially covered with some kind of cloth, got out of the SUV and strode over to Guerrero, firing several rounds at him. The shooting was captured on surveillance cameras.

The SUV fled west on Southlake Boulevard, also known as Farm Road 1709.

Guerrero was taken to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

An autopsy by the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office found he had been shot 10 times and had cocaine in his system.

The indictment states that Ledezma-Cepeda worked with others but does not identify them.

Ledezma-Cepeda and a man identified as Jose Luis Cepeda-Cortes appeared in federal court in McAllen on Monday morning, accused of traveling from Mexico to Southlake with the intent to kill an individual, according to an article published in The Monitor.

The men, both 58, waived their rights to preliminary hearings, The Monitor reported, and will be transported to North Texas for further court proceedings.

They were in the Hidalgo County Jail on Monday, The Monitor reported.

A third suspect was booked into the jail as a “John Doe,” The Monitor reported. NBC5, citing law enforcement sources, identified him as Jesus Gerardo Ledezma-Campano, the son of Ledezma-Cepeda.

David Hagerman, a Tarrant County prosecutor, said that although his office assisted in the investigation, the decision was made to pursue the case at the federal level. However, he would not rule out state charges in the future.

“This is an impressive example of interdepartmental law enforcement cooperation, both at the state and federal level,” Hagerman said. “These guys worked really hard. They’re to be congratulated. They never gave up.”

The Mexico City-based newsmagazine Proceso has described Guerrero as an alleged narcoabogado (lawyer for drug dealers) who is believed to have participated in the “legal defense of members of the Gulf Cartel.”

While police would not confirm media reports that Guerrero had ties to the Mexican cartel, Southlake Police Chief Stephen Mylett had been quick to assure residents that the shooting was not believed to be random.

“This was done by an organization with a specific target,” Mylett previously told reporters. “There is no continual threat here.”

Neither Southlake police nor the federal agencies involved would release additional information on Monday, but they announced a joint news conference for 2 p.m. today in Southlake.

This story was originally published September 8, 2014 at 3:10 PM with the headline "3 arrested in fatal 2013 shooting in Southlake Town Square."